Elastic-fluid turbine.



No. 767,671. l PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904. H. WIESNER.

ELASTIG FLUID TURBINE.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. .11, 1904.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 767,671.- l PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904. H. WIESNER.-

BLASTIG FLUID TURBINE.

APLICATION FILED APR.11, 1904.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

No. 767,671.L

UNITED STATES Patented August 16, 1904.

HENRY IVIESNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELASTlC-FLUID TU RBINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,671, dated August16, 1904.

` Application filed April Il, 1904-.. Serial No. 202,520. (No model Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY IVIESNER, of Chicago, in the county of' Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Elastic-Fluid Turbines; and I hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had totheaccompanying' drawings, which form part of this specification.

In elastic-fluid turbines it has heretofore been the practice to utilizethe energy of the elastic fluid-usually steamwunder pressure in one oftwo ways*iirst, by converting the liquid-pressure into velocity bypermitting the complete expansion of the fluid in an "expansion-nozzleand directing the fluid at its high velocity directly against the vanesof the rotor or turbine-wheel, or, second, by permitting the partialexpansion of the fluid in the rotor-chamber and employing a rotor whosediameter increases from its intake to its discharge end to accommodatesuch expansion, usually in conjunction with a condenser at the dischargeend of the rotor-chamber, tending to create a partial vacuum on thedischarge side of the turbine. Turbines of either type are open toobjection, the first class, among other reasons, on account of the toohigh speed necessarily imparted to the rotor and its low torque and thesecond class, among other reasons, on account of its structuraldisadvantages and complexity, and, further, on account of itsunavoidable losses through leakage of the motive fluid in theclearancespaces around the blades and its imperfect utilization of thekinetic energy acquired by the liquid in each step of its expansion.

As steam is the fluid most commonly employed, I Will hereinafter forbrevity use the term steam as typifying such fluids, it being understoodthat I do not limit myself to the employment of steam.

My invention has for its object to provide a turbine and a method ofoperation therefor l wherebythe energy of the steam is utilized to thehighest practical degree in such a manner as tov produce relatively lowspeed and high torque in a machine of simple structure free from theobjections inherent in turbines of the type above described.

To these ends my invention contemplates a method of operating turbineswhich consists in permitting the expansion of an elastic fluid in anexpansion-nozzle, thereby converting its expansive energy into velocityand directing said fluid at high velocity against a body of non elasticfluid arranged to circulate through the rotor-chamber and act as atranslating medium to impart motion to the rotor, and it provides aturbine adapted for the practice of such method of operation.

4In the drawings I have illustrated in simple form constructions adaptedfor the practice of my invention.

Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of such a turbine. Fig. 2 isa fragmentary section on line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a fragmentarysection on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail of a valve illustratedin Fig. I, and Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively front elevations and sideelevations of an improved expansion-nozzle of my invention. Fig. 7 is aview, partly in section, of a modified embodiment of my invention. Fig.8 is a section therethrough on line 8 8 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is adetail ofa modified nozzle arrangement, and Fig. lO is a section on lines 10 10of Fig. 9.

rThroughout the drawings like numerals of reference refer always to likeparts.

Referring now to the drawings, 15 indicates a bed-plate carryingstandards i6, in which are journaled for rotation a turbineshaft 17,carrying a turbine-wheel or rotor 18, preferably in the form of acylindrical hollow body having tapering ends 18l and provided upon itsperiphery with rows of suitable vanes or blades 19. The blades may be ofany suitable construction, but are preferably so shaped that the turbinemay be run in either direction, and for simplicity such blades areherein shown as flat plates inclined at a suitable angle relative to theaxis of the shaft 17, though in practice other shapes are well known tobe advantageous.

2O indicates a wall surrounding the turbine member and inclosing what Iwill term the turbine-chamber.

21 21 indicate vanes carried by the stationary wall 20 of the chamberand arranged for coaction with the vanes 19 oi' the rotor in the usualmanner.

22 indicates the inlet-opening to the turbine-chamber, and 23 the outletwhen the machine is working as illustrated in Fig. l.

24 indicates a conduit wherein a suitable liquid may f'low, arrangedwith one endin communication with the inlet end 22 ot' theturbine-chamber and with its other end in communication with the outlet23, so that the Wall of the turbine-chamber, together with the conduit,forms an endless casing, inclosing a passage through which a suitableliquid may circulate. The complete endless casing I will for brevitycall the turbine-casing.

25 indicates a pipe for conducting the elastic fluid entering theconduit 24 and provided with an orifice for escape or' the fiuid.

26 indicates generally an expansion-nozzle, a specific form whereoflwill be hereinafter described.

The steam-pipe 25 extends without the conduit 24 and is in communicationwith a fiuidsupply pipe 27.

In use the turbine-casing is completely filled with a body ofnon-elastic liquid or' some suitable character-such, for instance, aswater, or, ii' eiiciency is sought regardless oi' cost, mercury. Otherliquids may obviously be employed; but these are merely suggested asillustrative; but as water is the easiest liquid to obtain I willhereinafter refer to that liquid as the one employed and steam as theelastic fiuid employed.

Steam under proper pressure passes through pipe 25 into theexpansion-nozzle 26, where it expands to a proper degree,ltherebyconverting its pressure into velocity, and by said nozzle it is directedwhile at its highest velocity into the body oi' water inclosed in thecasing structure to impel the water in the same direction as theinjected steam. Coni tinuous injection of the steam increases thevelocity of the water and forces it in a circular path through theturbine-casing, said water in its travel overcoming the resistance ofthe rotor and starting the latter in rotation. Owing to the continuousinjection of steam, the water will become heated, and will therei'oreexpand somewhat, and the original body of water will also be increasedby the condensation of the steam. ThereforeI provide means for relievingthe casing of its surplus water. To this end I provide a tank 28,connected with the casing structure by a pipe 29, preferably providedwith a valve adapted to yield in either direction. Such a strucl i l lture is illustrated in detail in Fig. i and comprises two valve members3l and 32, the larger valve member 3l being normally seated byspring-pressure against the valvecasing and the small valve 32 beingseated in spring-pressure in the large valve, but arranged to open in adirection opposite to that of the larger valve 31. Other means mayobviously be employed for keeping constant the quantity of water in theturbine-casing structure by permitting the escape of surplus Water asthe latter becomes heated and augmented by the steam condensation andsupplying additional Water when the turbine is stopped and thewater-body shrunk in cooling. The water finally attains a hightemperature, approximating that of the steam, the closest approximationbetween the temperatures of the steam and Water consistent withmaintaining the Water in its liquid state being desirable. Obviously atfirst, if the water bein a cooled condition. considerable lost energyresults from the rapid condensation of the steam; but once the water isheated but little loss results from this cause.

It Will be obvious that, if required, the body of water might beextraneously heated for a suitable period of time to the more quicklybring it to its proper temperature; but the point upon which I laystress is that to secure the most successful operation of the machinethe water should be at a temperature as near that ot' the steam as isconsistent with its continuing in its liquid state.

It is further my intention to employ steam at the highest degree ofsuperheat practically possible, as the higher its superheat the slowerits condensation, and consequently the longer the time of its actionupon the Water.

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Furthermore,` it will be observed that I may I construct my casing androtor in such a way that the cross-sectional area of the passageafforded the liquid shall be equal at all points.

This being the case, it Willl be apparent that the Velocity of themoving body of liquid will be substantially the same at all pointswithin the casing and that when once its proper velocity is acquired thekinetic energy of the steam is utilized merely in maintaining it at suchvelocity. If desired, however, I may make the cross-sectional area oi'the turbine-chamber greater than that of the conduit24, so that thewater fiow through the conduit is faster than through the casing. Ineither arrangement the steam acts upon water moving at relatively highvelocity. VThis is important, as it is a well-known physical law thatthe greater the difference of velocities between the two bodies thegreater will be the loss oi' energy due to the impact. Thus in mypresent invention, the Water being at all times maintained under highvelocity,

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but little loss is occasioned by the impact of the steam.

The primarybeneiicial result following my method of operation is due tothe fact that the water traveling at a slower speed than the steam whichimpels it into motion and being vastly more ponderable than steam actsupon the vanes of the rotor to turn the said rotor at a slower speed,but with geater torque than is possible with the use of steam or otherelastic fluid as a direct impact agent. Furthermore, it will 'beapparent that the water, having greater persistence of motion thansteam, will not leak through the clearance-space of the blades to theextent to which the steam leaks, and the loss is consequently reduced. l

For regulating and maintaining constant the speed of the turbine-engineshown I provide a simple means comprising a flat blade 33, arrangedwithin the conduit 24,in advance of the steam-nozzle 26 and mounted on arock-shaft 34, extending through the conduitwall and provided cn itsouter end with a lever-arm 35, provided with a counterbalanceweight 36.The shaft 34 is also connected with a suitable valve mechanism forcontrolling the steam-supply, said mechanism being herein illustrated asa crank-arm 37, connected to a stem 38 of a valve 39, arranged withinthe steam-pipe 27. Vhen the water in the casing is at rest, the bladehangs directly downward; but as the water acquires velocity the bladeswings more or less toward horizontal position, and any increase ordecrease in velocity of the water in the conduit serves toproportionally elevate the blade 33 or permit it to drop and accordinglydiminish or increase the opening ofthe valve 39. The steamsupply whichcompels the motion of the translating liquid is therefore diminished orincreased and the speed of rotation of the turbinewheel accordinglycontrolled.- Movement of the counterweight of course governs thesteam-supply at a given speed. Other suitable governing or regulatingdevices, however, may obviously be employed with my construction.

I'also prefer to arrange the devices for introducing steam into theconduit 24 in such way that they may be reversed in position to drivethe translating liquid in either direction, and to this end I prefer toarrange the steam-pipe 25 for rotation about its longitudinal axis andprovide it with a hand-wheel 40, arranged exteriorly to the conduit 24.I have herein shown a single nozzle and have ldescribed the device asembodying only a single nozzle; but this is merely for simplicity, as itwill be apparent that any suitable'number of nozzles disposed at anysuitable positions in the turbine-casing might be employed.

Although the steam-nozzles employed may be of any desired form, I preferto forni them in the manner illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6- that is tosay, the nozzle 26 has its narrowest cylindrical portion 26 incommunication with the steam-pipe 25 and is shaped to aii'ord aplurality of flat thin divergent passages radiating from a commoncenter, so that in end view the nozzle has star-like appearance.(Illustrated in Fig. 5.) This construction I deem to be of greatadvantage, as it gives to the steam-jet a more extended surface forcontact with the water than would a cylindrical or conical jet, and Ihave found that when the steam is introduced into the water through anozzle of the shape described it produces less eddy effect thanwhenintroduced by a conical or cylindrical nozzle.

In Fig. 7 I have illustrated a form of apparatus differing from thatshown in Fig. 6 mainly in that the rotor is divided into two parts 18and 18, having their blades oppositely disposed and the casings for thesections of the rotor having their blades correspondingly opposed indirections. The conduit member is consistently divided into two sections24DL and 24h, arranged so that the path of flow of the water issubstantially the shape of the iigure 8. It will be noted from thearrows that the body of translating liquid iiows through the twosections of the rotor in opposite directions, so that the end thrust ofone section is counterbalanced by the end thrust of the other andpractically no thrust is imposed upon the bearings of the shaft.

In Figs. 9 and 10 I have illustrated a specific construction ofsteam-nozzle which is advantageous in that it imposes no resistance tothe flow of the water through the conduit, and in such figures 25Lrepresents the steampipe having an orifice 25b and extending up intorotary connection with the casing 26, arranged exteriorly to the conduit24 and communicating with said conduit through two nozzle members 26band 26, divergently arranged. It will be apparent that the pipe 25EL maybe turned so that its orifice 25b communicates with either of thenozzles 26" or 26c to impel the translating fluid .in the conduit 24 ineither direction.

IVhile I have shown my turbine as horizontally arranged, it will beAapparent that the principles of my invention might be embodied in avertical turbine.

It will be apparent that numerous changes might be made in the specificembodiment of my invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof.

That I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is#

1. A turbine comprising a casing providing an endless passage, a body ofliquid in said IOO IIO

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casing, an inlet-pipe for an elastic fluid having its orifice arrangedto inject the iuid into the liquid to set the same in motion through thecasing, and a rotor in the casing arranged in the path of flow of theliquid.

2. In a turbine, a rotor, a casing providing a chamber for the rotor anda conduit connecting the ends of the chamber, a body of liquid lillingthe casing, and fluid-inlets arranged to discharge into the water toimpel the same through the casing.

3. In a turbine, a rotor, an endless casing providing a chamber for saidrotor and a conduit connecting the ends of the chamber, a body of liquidfilling the casing, Huid-inlets arranged to discharge into the liquid toimpel the same through the casing, and a liquidholder arranged tomaintain the casing full of liquid.

4. 1n a turbine, a casing providing' an endless passage, a rotorarranged in said passage, a body of liquid in the passage, andHuid-inlets arranged to discharge into the liquid to impel the liquidthrough the passage.

5. In a turbine, a casing providing an endless passage, a rotor arrangedin the passage, a body of liquid in the passage, Huid-inlets arranged todischarge into the liquid to impel the liquid through the passage, asource of regulable fluid-supply, and means operated by the iiow ofliquid for regulating theiiluidsupply.

6. An expansion-nozzle for elastic-fluid turbines comprising a pluralityof narrow, longitudinally-tapering passages radiating from a common axisand arranged for communication with a common source of supply.

7. In a turbine a casing providing an endless passage, a rotor arrangedin the passage, a body of liquid in the passage, fluid-inlets arrangedto discharge into the liquid to impel the samethrough-the passage, asource of Huid-supply for the inlets, and means for regulating thefluid-supply comprising a valve controlling the supply, a pivoted bladehung in the turbine-passage to yieldingly oppose the movementy by theliquid, means for controlling the opposition ofthe blade to movement,and a connection between the blade and the valve whereby movement of theblade regulates the position of the valve.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aiiix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

HENRY WIESNER. In presence of- GEORGE T. MAY, Jr., MARY F. ALLEN.

